Toilet Cleaning: Eco friendly, natural, cost effective steps to a cleaner, fresher sparkling bowl.

Do you hate cleaning the bathroom, especially the toilet, then you are not alone. Even those who clean restrooms professionally hate this particular chore because no matter the jokes about it being a throne, it is a dirty job.

Toilets alone are known to hide bacteria and germs that most of us would shudder to discover in our 'clean' house but the truth of the matter is that the bathroom and the kitchen carry up to 90% of all household bacteria.

So, we must pay attention to how and what we use to clean them so that they are sanitary and germ free, if at all possible. Using caustic and harmfully toxic bathroom and toilet cleaners are the norm for most of us but if we are concerned about our family and our environment we need to change this approach to cleaning our homes.

Do you hate that intense chemical smell, which requires you to make sure that there is proper ventilation or having to put on rubber gloves for fear that you may damage your skin and hands?

Well, with the following products except for three, which do not top my list you can actually consume these and do in many of the recipes that you eat or drink on a regular basis.

You have a choice of White vinegar, Baking soda, Tang drink mix, flat cola, Listerine, Hydrogen peroxide, bleach, Denture cleaning tablets and the combination of vinegar and baking soda.

What you will need:

Toilet bowl

Scrub brush, optional

White Cotton cloth,( this is so you can just throw it in the washer when you have finished cleaning)

Your choice of cleanser

How to proceed:

1. Advance on the dirty toilet, lift the toilet seat 

2. Add whatever cleaner of your choice, the measured solution to the toilet water and bowl

3. For tough stains use the scrub brush

4. Flush the toilet to rinse ( only if you want to, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda does not have to be flushed unless you have pets or little ones that play in the toilet water, but that is up to you)

5. Use a disinfectant and allow to air dry

Allow any product you choose to use to sit at least 15 minutes, several hours or even overnight for the best results.

Solutions necessary to do the most effective job:

A. 1 cup of white vinegar, a colorless acidic liquid produced through the fermentation of ethanol can be added to the toilet water full strength, left for 30 minutes or so and then flush the toilet if you want or leave it in there, vinegar is also a good disinfectant and deodorizer.

B. 1 cup of white vinegar plus 1/2 cup of baking soda, if needed these measurement can be adjusted.

C. A 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide, an oxidizer - a colorless combination of oxygen and hydrogen, it can be used instead of bleach and a disinfectant, it is safer to use because it is non corrosive, added to the toilet bowl.

D. A 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Listerine mouth wash or a like brand and add it to the bowl, leave it for a hour or so, then flush to rinse, ( instead of spitting the mouthwash out in the sink, spit it into the toilet bowl. Besides a fresh smell it will clean the bowl as well.

E. Drop in 2 to 4 denture cleaning tablets, made up of sodium bicarbonate and citric acid should be dropped into the bowl filled with water and left for an hour or so. These are great for really stubborn stains, so allow to soak, scrub then flush. These are effective because toilet bowls and dentures are typically made up of porcelain.

F. You can do this in the morning before going to work or you can do this overnight - add one (1) cup of Baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, alone can be added to the bowl, then pour in a gallon of hot water and leave all day and when you return in the evening flush or when you wake up in the morning just flush.

G. Add one (1) cup of bleach, a chemical compound made from natural sources can be added to the toilet and allow to soak at least 2 to 4 hours. Remember bleach is used to whiten and disinfect, it breaks down the chemical makeup of germs and stains through oxidation, simplifying the problem leading to an ease to clean.

H. Tang, a orange flavored breakfast drink can be used, you will add 1/2 a cup to the toilet bowl, let soak for a few hours, then flush.

I. Flat cola, instead of throwing it away add it to the toilet bowl, allow to soak at least an hour then flush to rinse the toilet.

Disinfectant solution is made up of equal parts white vinegar and water, mix in a clean spray bottle and spray when you have cleaned the toilet. For added germ and bacteria fighting power follow up your vinegar water spray with full strength hydrogen peroxide, sprayed directly on the toilet bowl everywhere, on the seat, the lid and the bowl.

If you are a person that loves to use bleach, remember that it can be corrosive and needs to be monitored in closed areas because of it overpowering odor, so wherever you use it make sure you have good ventilation. Bleach is great though if you want to kill germs in the kitchen and the bathroom but it can be destructive if left too long. So supervise it's use closely!